As the academic year comes to a close, underclass students and faculty came together for a night of recognition in the DuBois Theatre. On Tuesday, May 27, the Underclass Prize Assembly honored members of the ninth, 10th and 11th grades for their outstanding academic and cocurricular work throughout Blair’s 177th year.

“You can’t avoid being changed by your experiences at Blair,” Assistant Head of School for Academics Nathan Molteni said as he welcomed everyone to the assembly. “Whether you realize it or not, this year has rubbed off on you in some important way….Take a rest from the noise of the world and think about what parts of this year are trapped in your mental pockets.” 

Click “play” below to watch the assembly. 

Congratulations to all of the students who were awarded for their accomplishments on Tuesday!

The Phillips-James Rosen Trophy: Khang Nguyen ’26 and Ella Eldridge ’26

The John Kinch Leach Merit Award: Victoria Carbonaro ’27 and Cael Mielnik ’27

The David Avery-Jones Freshman Prize: Lenox Nickles ’28 and Caroline Olsen ’28

The Joan and Fernando Marcial Prize: Sabira Hussaini ’26

The Stephen Curry Prize: Aanya Hemady ’27
 
The Edyth Jeffrey Shakespeare Essay Prize: Derek Chen ’26, Shane Hadden ’26, Claire Zheng ’26, Brayden Maxworthy ’27, Reagan O’Connell ’27, Binh Phan ’27, Lucy Wei ’27, Sebastian Woo ’27, Sadie Betz ’28, Mary Clare Devaney ’28, Rose Kaufelt ’28, Brad Kim ’28, Sophia Lee ’28, Michael Martic ’28, Maddie Nicholson ’28, Caroline Olsen ’28, Grace Phisuthikul ’28, Sophia Sun ’28, Kassidy Wilson ’28 and David Yang ’28

The Henry Cowan Prize: Khang Nguyen ’26 and Rita Meng ’26

English One Prize: Rose Kaufelt ’28 and Chidimma Nwafor ’28

English Two Prize: Ria Chae ’27 and George Gimbel ’27

Art Prize - Two Dimensional Art: Ev Rutt ’26

Art Prize - Three Dimensional Art: Naomi Sansone ’26

Art Prize - Photography: Margaret Swift ’26

Art Prize - The Kampmann Video Prize: Zayden Mirchandani ’27

Ninth-Grade History Prize: Henry Sprague ’28 and David Yang ’28

Tenth-Grade History Prize: George Gimbel ’27 and Adison Thatcher ’27

Eleventh-Grade History Prize: Derek Chen ’26 and Khang Nguyen ’26

The Marguerite Deysson Habermann Memorial French Prize: Khang Nguyen ’26

Chinese Language Prize: Zayden Mirchandani ’27

Spanish Language Prize: Liam Green ’26

Newton Prize for Calculus: Gerald Negvesky ’26

Hypatia Prize for Precalculus: Jay Seo ’27 and Liam Green ’26

Pythagoras Prize for Geometry: Sadie Betz ’28

Al-Khwarizmi Prize for Algebra: Henry Sprague ’28

Vocal Music Prize: Derek Chen ’26 and Jailin James ’26

Instrumental Music Prize: Khang Nguyen ’26

Underclass Theatre Prize: Jimmy Gibbons ’26 and Cathleen Zhang ’26

Self & Society Prize: Tyler Parkins ’28

Ninth-Grade Biology Prize: Sadie Betz ’28 and Erin Ko ’28

Tenth-Grade Chemistry Prize: Cake Ongnithiwat ’27 and Prima Viprakasit ’27

Eleventh-Grade Physics Prize: Khang Nguyen ’26

During the Underclass Prize Assembly, Mr. Molteni announced six recipients of the inaugural Portfolio of Distinction accolade, presented to those who exhibited outstanding work at the Junior Portfolio Symposium. The recipients are Derek Chen ’26, Sarah Henckel ’26, Ashley Hur ’26, Taeri Kim ’26, Eugenie Kwon ’26 and Brandon Wells ’26.

At School meeting earlier in May, The Alexander “ARob” Roberts Award for Spirit was presented to Jack McCauley ’26. The award is given annually in honor of Alexander Roberts ’18 to a member of the rising senior class who embodies his characteristics. Like ARob, the students selected fully immerse themselves in all that Blair has to offer and are distinguished by their character. They are known to be compassionate, humble, innately curious, passionate and committed to Blair. Both faculty and students describe the recipients as unifiers on campus, excelling both on the field and in the classroom. These students bring out the best in those around them and will leave an indelible mark on the Blair community—with an impact as large as the hearts and minds of those they have touched.